Mary Lou - will there ever be another?

[Sonny44]

I remember watching Mary Lou in the '84 Olympics like it was yesterday. This is a really nice (short) 2 part documentary. Brought tears to my eyes.

Enjoy, my friends.

 

[meyers7]

She shouldn't even have won. Szabo should have. She was cheated on the vault.

 

[bags27]

She shouldn't even have won. Szabo should have. She was cheated on the vault.

And a Merry Christmas to you, too, Mr. Grinch!

 

[meyers7]

And a Merry Christmas to you, too, Mr. Grinch!

Sorry, one of my pet (sports) peeves.

 

[ed4ourgirls]

Sorry, one of my pet (sports) peeves.

You're the guy who never cared for Phil Mickelson. We understand.

 

[meyers7]

You're the guy who never cared for Phil Mickelson. We understand.

It's goes a little deeper than "never cared".

 

[CL82]

Sorry, one of my pet (sports) peeves.

So here's one of mine. Modern gymnasts are incredible athletes, but their floor exercises lack the fluidity and charisma of the Rettons, Korbuts, Comanecis and Rigbys.

 

[johnnyc]

Mary Lou was good but Kerri Strug landing the vault with the bad ankle wow.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

She shouldn't even have won. Szabo should have. She was cheated on the vault.

Wrong. She had a hop off the landing on the balance beam. At least a .1 deduction. Ignored. Karma came along later.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

BTW the leotard was the greatest USA uniform of all time. They really nailed it. Just screamed America.

 

[sarals24]

Mary Lou was in the right place at the right time. If the Soviets had been there, she wouldn't have sniffed the medal podium. That said, she capitalized on her chance and made a living the rest of her life off it. Good for her.

Simone Biles is going to go down as the greatest gymnast ever, though. She's going to burn the gym down around her in Rio. Scorched earth.

 

[uconnell]

Bibles is an unbelievable gymnast. She is so strong and graceful. I notice that most if the gymnasts today are larger in build than the earlier ones. I had not watched gymnasts perform lately and was surprised by their build. I guess that is where their strength comes from.

Briles darn autocorrect.

 

[sarals24]

It's a response to the emphasis placed on acrobatics rather than ballet. Different body types excel now. I for one think it's a welcome change - eating disorders were rampant in the 80s and 90s in the sport because the pressure was on to stay stick thin and look a certain way. That led to more injuries, etc. The gymnasts now are older (they raised the age limit for international competition from 14 to 16) and often compete for more than one Olympics - into their 20s.

 

[wire chief]

I remember watching Mary Lou in the '84 Olympics like it was yesterday. This is a really nice (short) 2 part documentary. Brought tears to my eyes.

Enjoy, my friends.

Wonderful warm up. Thanks

 

[meyers7]

Wrong. She had a hop off the landing on the balance beam. At least a .1 deduction. Ignored. Karma came along later.

Talking about the vault.

 

[RockyMTblue2]

Talking about the vault.

But we are talking about a cumulative score event???

 

[ThisJustIn]

 

[DGHuskyFan]

Here's a good article from ESPN On why the U.S. Women are now dominating gymnastics. It mentions how the scoring system rewards technical difficulty in routines over "grace" and how that has led to what we see now regarding the athlete age, body type, etc.

http://www.espn.com/espnw/sports/ar...n-gymnastics-team-win-everything-rio-olympics

 

[Carnac]

About every 20/30 years (or so), a phenom comes along in the various sports genres. Simone Biles (in some circles) is thought to have the potential to be one of the greatest gymnasts ever.

Some call her the "Michael Jordan" of gymnastics.

[LINK]

 

[OldAlum]

And Biles had the highest score on 3 of 4 apparatus in the qualifying round. USA looking great! I, for one enjoy the more athletic style and gymnastics performed by young women who don't look like starved children!

 

[meyers7]

But we are talking about a cumulative score event???

Yes, she was underscored in the vault.

 

[Sonny44]

Agree, Biles will eclipse them all.

 

[Kibitzer]

I shudder at the thought that some commentator will inevitably refer to a spectacular gymnastic action by Simone as a "Biles movement."

 

[Beemer]

It's a response to the emphasis placed on acrobatics rather than ballet. Different body types excel now. I for one think it's a welcome change - eating disorders were rampant in the 80s and 90s in the sport because the pressure was on to stay stick thin and look a certain way. That led to more injuries, etc. The gymnasts now are older (they raised the age limit for international competition from 14 to 16) and often compete for more than one Olympics - into their 20s.

Look at female gymnasts until 1972 when Olga Korbut arrived on the scene- mostly they were young women in their late teens & early 20s, not girls barely in their teens. They were both graceful & athletic.

 

[Beemer]

I remember watching Mary Lou in the '84 Olympics like it was yesterday. This is a really nice (short) 2 part documentary. Brought tears to my eyes.

Enjoy, my friends.

I remember it too. I'd never seen a gymnast built like an NFL fullback before and I couldn't believe she had any chance against the Rumanians, who IMO were better than the Soviets at that time thanks to the example of Nadia Comaneci.